Helios's Last Stand
by ObsessiveFanNumber1
Summary: We all remember Helios finally acknowledging Drago as number 1.  But what if that battle ended differently?  A little more...deadlier?  AU version, starts with the ending of "Spectra's Last Stand".  Rated T 'cause I'm paranoid.  Please read & review.
1. Chapter 1

**Me: Hey, guys and girls! Guess what! I finally got tired of having this one only on my other computer so I couldn't upload it and whatnot, so I finally decided to type it again on my laptop! So welcome to "Helios's Last Stand"! (Helios has a very minor role when it comes to actually being present, but he influences Spectra a lot by **_**not**_** being there.)  
Disclaimer: I don't own Bakugan. We all know what would happen if I did.**

**Spectra: I never would've left in the first place, and what do you mean, Helios isn't going to be in?**

**Me: You'll have to find out! Now, onto the story!**

* * *

Spectra turned away from the Brawlers. He didn't look back. He'd lost enough. His father, his closest friend, his sister...losing his guardian was the hardest of all. "Congratulations, Dan Kuso," he said, his voice hollow. "You've earned being the Ultimate brawler."

"Spectra..." Dan sounded stunned. "We didn't..."

"Save it for someone who cares, Dan Kuso." Spectra ignored their shock and walked away, silently vowing to get revenge on Dan for this. Of everything the human Pyrus brawler had done, this was by far the one that Spectra would never forget or forgive. The Vexos—and the rest of the Resistance—didn't matter now.

Out of their sight, Spectra pressed a button on his gauntlet and teleported back to the Vestal Destroyer. The pain from it getting the better of him, he covered his face with his hand. _Helios..._ He couldn't believe Helios was... For the first time in years, tears escaped Spectra's eyes, sliding past the mask and down his face. He cried in silence, mourning Gus, Mira, Helios, and even Clay. Through everything, he'd had _someone_, be it his sister, Gus, or—mostly—Helios. But now...

* * *

With the Resistance, Dan turned to face the others. "We didn't mean to..." he said emptily.

"Oh, Dan." Runo stepped forward, hugging Dan and letting him lay his head on her shoulder.

"How did...?" Drago's confusion was mixed with...sadness? That was what it sounded like.

Preyas—being the Bakugan who'd known him the longest—reached out and gently patted his arm. "You didn't mean to."

"But..." Drago turned his head to stare at the smoking crater that had been created at the end of his last fight against Helios. "I couldn't...it was an accident!"

"We know," Preyas said comfortingly. "We understand."

"Dan?" Marucho said hesitantly.

Dan could only lean on Runo, but he was still staring at the crater with shock filling his eyes. "We didn't..." he repeated dumbly.

"Come on." Shun grabbed his free arm and pulled him along back in the direction of his house with Runo's help.

Drago stared at the smoke, shocked, a moment longer. Had he really just...did Helios really just...? Drago went back into ball form and zoomed straight to Dan's pocket.

"Guess that's one way to take care of them," Ace said softly, hands in his pockets. They could all tell that he was too shocked to really mean the words, though. Everyone followed Dan, Shun, and Runo back.

Everyone except for Mira. She watched the direction Spectra had gone. _Keith...he didn't mean to. Please, know that!_ Her gaze lingered for several seconds before she turned and ran after the others, still glancing over her shoulder after the Pyrus brawler.

* * *

_Tears for the first time since leaving to search for Clay?_ Spectra scolded himself harshly. _I should be working! Childish actions will do _nothing_ to defeat Dan Kuso._

_...But how am I supposed to beat him without Helios?_

Spectra shook his head. Sorrow was preventing him from thinking clearly. Helios was...he couldn't use Helios anymore, so the only thing that made sense was to find a new Bakugan. It wouldn't be easy—to do, or to bear—but if he was going to defeat Dan Kuso and get his revenge, he would have to go to New Vestroia and do it.

The Vestal teenager typed in the coordinates to reach New Vestroia with one hand. The other slid into his pocket, where he had Helios's unused Battle Gear. Maybe if he'd used it, Helios could've...okay, he had to stop doing that. All "what if's" would do would make him more upset, not a good idea. Still gripping the Battle Gear, Spectra pulled his hand out, roughly wiping away the tear streaks with the back of his fist. He couldn't afford weakness like that, especially now that he'd lost everyone he trusted.

Spectra watched coldly as the Vestal Destroyer went through the dimensional portal, pressing a button to activate the airship's cloaking device as well. It wouldn't do any good for the Bakugan to see it, Skyress in particular. If she saw, she would no doubt scatter the Bakugan, making the whole point of this meaningless. Not that Spectra would _blame_ her, keeping in mind that he'd kidnapped her and turned her to stone, but...he was going to avoid her if he could. Strictly as an extra precaution. The Pyrus brawler pressed a button on his gauntlet, teleporting out of the Vestal Destroyer and onto the ground.

As he walked, Spectra couldn't help noticing how much more peaceful it was here. He'd never seen it so calm—ever. Bakugan were scattered anywhere and everywhere, all of them in full battle mode, but none of them battling. He wondered how much he and the Vexos had done to disrupt that. The thought was disconcerting, and he pushed it away. All the time, Spectra was scanning for a Bakugan he could take and use, although by now, he'd settle for finding a Pyrus Bakugan at all. The only attributes he saw right now were Aquos, Ventus, and Subterra, none of which he was willing to try using.

A sudden whirlwind forced him to stop walking. _Sh*t!_ He knew exactly who was causing it. He was just relieved that the wind wasn't strong enough to push him to the ground; there was no doubt in his mind that it easily could've been.

"What do you think _you're_ doing?"

"Hello, Skyress," Spectra said evenly, turning to face the Ventus Bakugan. "Technically, I could ask the same of you. I haven't come with the intention of harming the Bakugan in any way, so preventing me from continuing really is unnecessary and pointless."

"Why don't I believe you?" Skyress sounded like her patience was strained to the end. _It seems _that _attempt was a failure._

"The only reason I'm here is to find a new guardian," Spectra said calmly, trying to stay civil and keep his temper under control. The _last_ thing he needed right now was a fight against one of the six Hero Bakugan, especially the second most powerful and definitely not after what Drago did.

"A new guardian?" Skyress was taken off-guard. "Why would you need _that_?"

Spectra clenched his hand into a fist. "I don't recall that being any of your concern. In any case, I have no reason to tell you."

"You said you need a new guardian, child," Skyress said, regaining her composure. "All of the Bakugan here trust me. They won't hesitate to avoid you if I tell them to."

Unfortunately, Spectra didn't doubt her words were true. But still...he didn't have to _want_ to tell her, did he? The Pyrus brawler remained silent, his only reaction being a glare for calling him a child.

"Why do you need a new guardian, Spectra?" Skyress said softly. Her gentleness only infuriated Spectra, though. The past think he wanted was _pity_, and the original guardian of one of his enemies wasn't exactly high on the list of people he might consider putting up with it from.

But his next words stung before he even said them. "Because Helios..." He trailed off, cursing himself for being so weak that he couldn't even stand to say the words while struggling to stay cool and detached at the same time.

"What happened, child?" Skyress said gently.

Spectra glared at her, refusing to let any more tears slip free of his eyes...or at least not letting them slide past the mask. "You truly want to know?" he snapped, covering his sorrow with anger in an effort to make it easier on himself.

"I do," Skyress said.

"Because Drago killed Helios!"

* * *

**Spectra: What did you do to Helios, you little—**

**Me: Whoa, calm down, Spectra! Temper much? I wasn't kidding about the title.**

**Spectra: Tell me what you did to him, d*mm*t!**

**Me: Settle down! I want to let the readers know a couple things before the chapter's over. (But they have to be in parenthesis so he doesn't know them. First off, I know that Gus, Mira, and Clay aren't dead {yet, in Clay's case}, but this is an AU ending for "Spectra's Last Stand", so he thinks that Gus is dead, and he can't claim Clay and Mira as his family when he cut those bonds off. Second {this one is me being a little paranoid}, this was not in any way, shape, or form inspired by "Tales of Chibi" by Stephy825, which IS an awesome story, but I swear I'm not copying the idea! *breath* Okay, sorry, I had to say that to make me feel better.) Finally, please review!**

**Spectra: (Did she even say anything else...?)**

**Me: (He can't see what's in the parenthesis.) Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Spectra: If you don't tell me what you did—**

**Me: Yeah, yeah, I know, you'll kill me. You've only been threatening that since I uploaded chapter 1. *roll eyes* Just do the disclaimer.**

**Spectra: Why are you lowering me to that?**

**Me: Because you're the only one around.**

**Spectra: (She's pathetic...) Obsessive-Fan Number 1 doesn't own anything. However, if she wants to live *glare*, she'll explain what she did to Helios.**

**Me: You'll find out when everyone else does, Spectra. Here's chapter 2!**

* * *

"What?"

"You heard exactly what I said, Skyress. Don't try and force me to repeat it."

"Do you have proof of this, child?"

"Do you think I would lie when it involves Helios?" Spectra closed his eyes. "Drago killed him. If seeing it myself isn't proof, then nothing will be."

"How?" Skyress sounded shocked that Drago would ever kill anything.

Spectra glanced at her. "In the deciding battle. I challenged Dan one final time to determine the Ultimate. Drago lost control and killed Helios." He clenched his hand into a fist, silently repeating his vow to get revenge on Dan Kuso no matter the cost to him. He'd lost everything he truly cared about, so the price didn't matter.

The whirlwind around them slowed to a stop. "If he lost control, it can't have been on purpose," Skyress said softly, partly to herself, wrapping her wings in a wide arc around Spectra. The Vestal brawler automatically flinched, but was slightly relieved that she didn't try to touch him; that would be a bit more than he could stand right now. "You know that, child."

"Drago's intention doesn't matter," Spectra said coldly. "What happened already has. Whether he meant to kill Helios or not doesn't change the fact that I'm going to need a new guardian if I'm going to get anything done."

Skyress turned serious. "What are you planning to do now, child?"

"My plans don't concern you, Skyress," Spectra said. "I see no reason for me to explain them to you."

"If you're going to harm Shun or any of the others, then I will make sure that all of the Bakugan are warned to stay away from you, Spectra," Skyress said seriously.

Spectra's short laugh was bitter and empty. "Drago killed Helios, and you expect me not to harm him or Dan Kuso? The others are unimportant to me unless they get in my way. _Your_ Shun won't be hurt if he's wise enough not to try and stop me." His reference to Shun held only a slight bit of mocking, out of caution against angering Skyress.

Skyress was silent for a moment. "I'll help you, child," she said finally.

"What?" Spectra looked up, startled. He hadn't been expecting that. "What did you say?"

"I'll help you find a new guardian, on a condition."

"Condition?"

Suddenly, the fierce wind reappeared. "Use him to _ever_ harm my Shun," Skyress said fiercely, "and you'll regret more today than the loss of Helios. Do you understand, Spectra?"

The Pyrus brawler toyed with the idea of saying no, but he scraped it in the end. What choice did he have? He obviously wasn't going to get a new Bakugan any other way. "Very well," Spectra said coolly. "Your Shun will be left out of my personal grudges. I won't use my new Bakugan to hurt Shun as long as I get a new Bakugan at all."

"Swear it on your life."

"On _my_ life?" Spectra repeated. "I'll swear it on—I _do _swear it on Mira's. Her life is more important now." He looked away, slowly massaging his temple. "Why give me a chance at all, Skyress?"

"You've changed," the Ventus Bakugan replied gently.

"I've been through the pain of losing the few I care about one by one," Spectra said bluntly. "You couldn't expect that not to leave an effect."

"For the better, child, you've changed."

"Have I?" Spectra said disbelievingly. "And how is that?"

He thought he saw Skyress smile. "Don't you see? You've almost fully awoken."

Spectra's eyes widened, he instantly tensed, and his hands clenched into tight fists. "What are you—?" he started angrily, but Skyress had already flown off to fulfill her end of the deal. "D*mm*t!" the Pyrus brawler swore, kneeling and punching the ground. "How could she know about that?"

"Because I told her," a familiar female voice that he hadn't heard in years said from behind him.

Spectra turned. "What—" He stopped when he saw. "Wavern?" he whispered.

Wavern's image smiled. "So you remember."

"Of course I do; how could I forget?" Spectra said, stunned. "But that was years ago, almost ten now."

"Wrong."

"What?" Spectra was surprised by how she still managed to be sharp and teasing at the same time, something that never failed to take him off-guard.

Wavern softened. "It _has_ been ten years today," she said gently.

"It seems I knew my purpose much better then," Spectra muttered. He looked up at Wavern's image. _She isn't really...well, of course not! She's part of the Perfect Core now, but unlike Drago, she can't leave. Getting her help again is absolutely impossible._

"I think you _did_, Keith," Wavern said.

Spectra flinched. "Don't call me 'Keith', Wavern."

"I'm going to call you by your name."

"That _isn't_ my name anymore! It's Spectra now."

"Hm." Wavern pretended to think it over. "I prefer Keith."

_You wouldn't be the first,_ Spectra thought, thinking of Mira. "You can't change it back."

"I don't need to. You're already changing it on your own, Keith."

Spectra clenched his hands into fists, trying and failing to stop himself from shaking. Why did everyone see it fit to make a point of that? "Stop saying that!"

Gently, Wavern said, "All I want is to help you, Keith."

"Shut up!" Spectra shouted.

"What is it you're so afraid of?"

Spectra was silent for a moment. "What?" he repeated. "You know, Wavern. You've known for ten years." Again, he couldn't stop trembling no matter how hard he tried.

Wavern 'landed' next to him. "You aren't being trapped again," she soothed, "and those who care won't let it happen."

Bitterly, Spectra smiled. "Who's left? I've been leading the opposite side of the war than Mira since before you became part of the Perfect Core. You can't leave here. Gus and Helios are both dead. And even if I _hadn't_ cut off all ties with Clay, he was the one who originally kept me trapped. Who else is there?"

"The Resistance."

Spectra bit back a disbelieving laugh. He cared for Wavern, but she acted so naïve sometimes. "We're on opposite sides of a war, Wavern. They would be happier if I left them alone."

"Most of them would be if it were only about them. They all care about you, though; if they don't for anything else, they do because Mira does."

"How do you know she does?" Spectra challenged softly, looking away. "You don't know everything I've forced her through."

"It doesn't matter," Wavern said simply. "Younger sisters never stop loving their older brothers."

_That's right...Wavern _would_ know that personally._ "Neither do older brothers," Spectra said softly, laying his hand on Wavern's image, even if she couldn't feel it. "Even megalomanic ones," he added with a humorless smile. He stroked her image, knowing that she could see and hear his effort at comfort.

Wavern smiled gently. "Why are you trying to convince yourself differently?"

Spectra hesitated, but he gave in with a sigh. "I have to," he said simply. "It's the only way I can justify everything I've done to her." He continued to stroke the White Bakugan. "But I'm far from the best at fooling myself into believing I don't care." _I believe that will always be Naga._

Wavern lowered her head to Spectra's level, and the Vestal brawler stroked her snout. "My brother was always a cold being," Wavern said seriously. "He didn't care for much at all, and when he did, it was always thinner than his patience."

"I remember from your few stories involving him." Spectra looked down at the ground, memory tides forcing through. In particular, the day he'd tried to bury those memories kept resurfacing. "Everyone on Vestal knew something was wrong. The day you became the Perfect Core."

"Oh? How?"

"The Bakugan. None of them would fight. For the few who knew that Bakugan spoke, our guardians would hardly open their mouths. Even Clay's artificials were affected, all shutting down and refusing to reboot."

"Artificials?"

"Under Zenoheld and Hydron's—the king and former prince—orders, Clay started creating mechanical Bakugan."

"What?"

Spectra stared ahead. "They were supposedly the perfect weapons for the Vexos. None of them speak, so they can't talk back. Their stamina and strength are far higher than that of a natural Bakugan's. Since they're mechanical, they don't feel any emotion. Totally obedient and whatnot." He rolled his eyes.

"You don't care for them?" Wavern sounded relieved and proud.

"I despise any mindless Bakugan," Spectra said bluntly. "Supposedly, their lack of emotions makes them 'perfect weapons' and 'better fighters', but I've battled with them. They may be functioning, but they're dead."

"What do you mean?"

"Emotions are a double-edged sword in a fight more often than not. Yes, hesitation isn't something you normally want from your partner, but if they're hesitant because you're about to do something stupid..." Spectra trailed off, unable to think of anything except Helios. It had only been earlier that day; the memory already choked him. _D*mn you, Dan Kuso!_

"Talking back becomes a good thing," Wavern said, sensing that Spectra couldn't finish. "You'd know."

The pain didn't lessen any, but Spectra nodded. "Exactly. Clay's artificials...the Vexos may claim that they're 'emotionless', but the fact is that they're soulless. Thus, I despise them." He glanced away and sighed. He was being a hypocrite...that is, he would've been, if Helios were still alive.

"A heavy sigh for one so young," Wavern said, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"I'm not a child, Wavern." Still, Spectra smiled, remembering how often she'd said that or something similar.

"You are by my standards." Wavern smiled, but her eyes remained serious. "What is it?"

Spectra hesitated. It definitely wasn't something he wanted to discuss, but would Wavern let him get away with _not _telling her? Unfortunately, he seriously doubted it. With a sigh, Spectra said, "I'm being slightly hypocritical again."

"Oh, you were more than 'slightly' last time," Wavern said. "How?"

"Because my cur—_former_ guardian is—_was_ part-mechanical."

"What?"

"He suggested it, but I admit to going along with it after he explained his reasoning. Thanks to the fact that he was only _part_-mechanical, he had its assets without its faults."

"What was his reasoning?"

"Helios and I have a...particular rivalry with Drago and Dan Kuso." Spectra struggled to explain without making Dan and Drago 'the bad guys' in order not to offend or upset Wavern. "He decided that being part-mechanical would give us an advantage over them." _Not that it did much. If it had, then Helios wouldn't be...dead, now._

"Particular rivalry?" Wavern repeated seriously.

Spectra sighed. "I told you. Opposite sides of a war. Dan Kuso and Drago are part of the Resistance."

"I'm not surprised." Fondness colored Wavern's eyes. "Drago's always been like that."

_Don't tell me she's going to start about her precious "Dragoruny" again, especially now that Dan Kuso and I are sworn enemies!_ "You always did describe him as the hero," Spectra said irritably.

"What happened to being desperate to meet him?" Wavern teased.

"I grew up and started fighting against them," Spectra said simply. "I told you, Wavern. I'm not a child anymore. My judgments aren't based off of stories. I base them off of my experience, and when it comes to Dan Kuso and Drago, our experiences couldn't be more different."

"What exactly do you mean?" Wavern said, sensing that the Pyrus brawler was indirectly saying more.

"Am I supposed to list everything or only tell part of it?"

The dry joke made Wavern smile, but her eyes showed her seriousness. "Start with only part."

Spectra sighed. He was getting tired of explaining this. "Do you know why I had to stop myself from referring to Helios as my _current _guardian?"

Wavern's eyes widened. "No. Drago wouldn't. He could never..."

"He _did_, Wavern." Spectra stared straight ahead. "Accept it. Your wonderful 'Dragoruny'"—he practically spat the words—"isn't perfect. As much as I'd rather ignore it, Dan Kuso and Drago are stronger than Helios and me. They've proven that repeatedly. That isn't what I don't understand."

"What is?"

Spectra gripped Twin Destructor. "Helios had just recently evolved. How come Drago killed him now and not before?"

"I don't believe he could've..." Wavern said softly, laying her head on Spectra's outstretched palm. "Drago couldn't."

"He obviously can," Spectra said bitterly, stroking her snout. "He's always had the power to."

"That isn't what I mean."

"Oh? Then what _do _you mean?" Spectra's tone made it clear that he couldn't care less why Drago supposedly "couldn't". But he didn't stop stroking Wavern, so he was still willing to listen to her.

"I don't think Drago could ever bring himself to kill anyone who isn't pure evil."

"You sound so sure that Helios and I aren't." An edge of testing added to Spectra's voice.

"I know you aren't, Keith," Wavern said simply. "You never could be."

Spectra gave up on trying to convince her that he was no longer Keith. "How do you know?"

Wavern's smile was the slightest bit teasing. "I still remember the young boy who couldn't wait to get out so he could brawl and take care of his sister."

Spectra slowly blew out air, trying to stay patient. "First off, I was _nine_. Second, I don't think there was anyone on Vestal who _could_ wait to brawl. Third, Mira and I both _needed_ to get out. And fourth, I already was taking care of Mira far more than Clay ever took care of either of us."

"Nine makes you a young boy. And I understand all of that."

"Not to change the subject," Spectra said with mock sarcasm, "but what does this have to do with anything?"

"It helps make my point. How could someone so innocent and eager to help be pure evil?"

"That was ten years ago, Wavern. Nine-year-old's are far more naïve than nineteen-year-old's. And I'm far from _innocent_."

"You weren't so far from it then."

"Why bother with 'then'? It doesn't matter how innocent I was or wasn't ten years ago. What matters is how things are now."

Wavern smiled and shook her head. "You do such a god job at fooling yourself, Keith."

"Living in the past won't do any good," Spectra said bluntly. "It's not like anything can change it, so why dwell on it? No good can come of trying or hoping to retrieve what's already been lost."

"Do you really believe that?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be here waiting for Skyress to come back with my new Bakugan." If he hadn't been so distracted, if he'd just listened to Helios...Spectra knew he was being a hypocrite again, but he'd accepted that as one of his faults years ago.

"Hm. You're doing it again." Wavern smiled at him with an obvious "you think I believe that?" sparkling in her eyes.

Spectra sighed. "Fine. Maybe I don't want to. But that doesn't mean it'll change. It's a fact. There's no way to go back in time." He rolled his eyes at how farfetched the idea was.

"But you can change things so that part of the past can be brought back. Don't forget that, Keith." Wavern's image started to fade.

Despite his initial surprise, Spectra still continued to stroke Wavern. "I understand," he said softly, though he wasn't talking about her words. "You may be New Vestroia's balance, but you can only stay visible in this form like this for so long at a time."

Wavern smiled and brushed her wing against him comfortingly, the same way she always used to. "Don't forget what I said last time, either." Then her image faded entirely.

Spectra shook his head, but a small hint of a smile was still on his face. "How could I?" he murmured. _She hasn't changed._ He'd missed Wavern, though, so he didn't really mind.

"What are we doing again, Skyress?" an unfamiliar male voice said impatiently. Spectra looked up, surprised, to see two Bakugan. One of them was Skyress. The other one—the Pyrus one—was slightly behind her. He looked somewhat similar to a Falconeer or a Ravenoid, but the tips of his talons and claws were a dark crimson color several shades darker than blood. He was intimidating, but Spectra remained calm.

"I told you," Skyress said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "There's someone here who needs a Bakugan."

"So you drag me away?" the Pyrus Bakugan demanded.

"Yes."

"I'm assuming that this is the one you found to keep your part of the bargain?" Spectra said coolly, arms folded across his chest.

"It is," Skyress said.

"Bargain?" the Pyrus Bakugan repeated. "What's going on here, Skyress, huh?"

Skyress's tired smile was strained. "Arsonic, this is Spectra."

"Arsonic, hm?" Spectra studied his new Bakugan.

"It's _Gamma_ Arsonic!" Arsonic said furiously. "I've told you a hundred times before—"

"Do you expect him to call you 'Gamma Arsonic' every time he's speaking to you?" Skyress said—actually, kind of snapped—while she looked at him.

"Well...no...but..." Arsonic stumbled over the words.

Spectra rolled his eyes. Great, his new Bakugan had a crush on Skyress. Wonderful. "A deal is a deal," he said, looking at Skyress. "I won't harm your Shun." He held out his hand.

"Hmph." Arsonic went into ball form, zoomed to Spectra's hand, and promptly popped open and started to speak again. "Don't even _think_ about breaking a promise you made to Skyress!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Spectra muttered sarcastically, quiet enough that his Bakugan wouldn't hear.

"...I think the two of you should be good for each other," Skyress said after a moment with a gentle smile. "In more ways than one." Spectra glanced up, confused, but Skyress flew off without anther word. Arsonic made a small, annoyed noise.

"What's the matter?" Spectra said, slightly mockingly, glancing at him as he started walking back closer to the Vestal Destroyer. "Upset that she left before you could say goodbye?"

"S-shut up!" Arsonic said furiously.

"That would be a yes." Spectra smirked a little, but all the same, he didn't want to get off on the wrong foot (so to speak) any further, so he lightly stroked Arsonic.

"...Hmph." Arsonic looked away, but he seemed to like Spectra a lot more than he did a few moments before. Spectra smiled and continued walking.

* * *

**Spectra (sarcastically): Wonderful.**

**Arsonic: Hey!**

**Me: Be quiet, you two. (If anybody out there has any artistic talent, could you maybe be a dear and draw a picture of Gamma Arsonic for me? If you can, let me know either through a review or a message, and I can tell you my general picture that I had in mind for him, but I can't draw to save my life.) Don't worry; Skyress and Wavern's roles in this story are far from complete! They will come back in later chapters, I promise.**

**Spectra (major sarcasm): Perfect.**

**Arsonic: (Yes!)**

**Me: Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: Argh! Sorry for taking so long, everybody!**

**Arsonic: Is Skyress in this chapter?**

**Me: Slow down, Arsonic. You'll find out.**

**Arsonic: But—**

**Me: Hey, here's an idea! You do the disclaimer, and I'll tell you!**

**Arsonic: Obsessive-Fan Number 1 doesn't own anything.**

**Me: Except for Arsonic. Now...*whisper answer to him***

**Spectra (mocking sarcasm): Let me guess. Everyone else has to read the chapter to find out?**

**Me: Yup! Here's chapter 3! (By the way, there's a little reference to my other favorite series, "Fullmetal Alchemist". It's nothing big, so don't worry if you don't know about the series.)**

* * *

"Dan, please," Runo pleaded. "You have to eat _something_! Come on, what happened to always being excited about Taco Tuesday?"

Dan shook his head. "Not hungry," he mumbled. He had been like this for the past several hours. Honestly, it wasn't even Tuesday anymore. It was one in the morning. All of the Battle Brawlers and the Resistance were back at Marucho's mansion in the living room, watching an anime show called _Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood_. Dan had no idea what it was about. He and Drago were both too guilt-ridden to pay any attention. "Why are we watching TV again?" he asked, rolling onto his side on the couch.

"It's not that bad of a show, Dan," Ace said. None of them mentioned the real reason: to try and get Dan and Drago back to acting like their normal selves.

"Whatever," Dan moaned, pulling a blanket over his head. The members of the Resistance and the Battle Brawlers exchanged a look and silently agreed to let him be. Runo wrapped her arms around his shoulders, laying his head in her lap, and they continued to watch the marathon of the show.

Near the table—where plenty of food was still left—Drago was acting very similar. "Preyas, I know you're trying to help, but leave me alone."

"No way, buddy," Preyas said stubbornly, nudging the Pyrus Bakugan. "Hey, should we—"

"No."

Preyas faltered a little at Drago's sharpness, but he quickly bounced back. "Okay then...why don't we—"

"I don't want to."

"Drago...come on, you've gotta want to do _something_!"

"Right now? I want to be left alone." Drago still was in semi-shock over killing Helios. The two were rivals, to put it lightly, but...he hadn't meant to _kill_ him! All Drago had been trying to do was send him back into ball form and hopefully knock some sense into him. Killing was too much of an extreme, and Drago hated that he'd done it. "I don't know what went wrong," he muttered hazily.

"They're out of the way now, though, aren't they?" Elfin sounded desperate to find a silver lining.

"That's not the point!" Drago snapped without meaning to. Elfin shrunk back. Forcing himself to relax, Drago softly said, "Sorry, Elfin. It's just..."

"We get it, Drago," Ingram said. "It's okay."

"...I can't believe it..."

"We know," Tigrerra said.

"Drago?" Hydranoid's right head said, almost hesitantly.

"What is it, Hydranoid?" Drago turned to look at the Darkus Bakugan.

"...I know it doesn't help much," the left head said. "But at least you and Helios have always been enemies," his middle head added.

It took Drago a moment to realize what he was silently referring to. "Yes...but—you know that I'm not—"

"—trying to offend me or anything. Yes, I know," Hydranoid's middle head said. "I don't mind it being brought up."

Drago nodded gratefully. "Naga was pure evil. But I don't think Helios and Spectra really are...or were."

"I don't either," Hydranoid's right head said. "But—"

"Hey, Drago!" Dan called, getting to his feet and stretching. "We've gotta get going, buddy."

"Are you sure, Dan?" Marucho said, sitting up.

"Yeah. My mom's probably freaking out right now." Dan walked over, picked up Drago, and waved to the others. "See you tomorrow, guys."

"...See you tomorrow, Dan," Runo said, worry still coloring her eyes.

"Hey, don't worry." Dan gave them all his signature thumbs up. "I'll be okay. I promise." He walked out the door to go home, hands in his pockets and Drago on his shoulder.

* * *

"Whoa," Arsonic said as soon as they were aboard the Vestal Destroyer. He hopped out of Spectra's hand to stare at everything. Spectra only smiled; not to pat himself on the back, but he supposed it _was_ pretty impressive, which really wasn't a bad thing. "_This_ is where you live?"

_Considering that I'm practically an outcast on Vestal and Earth._ Not that Spectra had a problem with that. "Yes."

"This is pretty showy," Arsonic said, staring at the equipment

"'Showy'?" Spectra repeated, glancing at him. "All of the equipment in here is real."

"Seriously?"

"Why would I have it if it wasn't?"

Arsonic looked around again. "Wow. Forget impressive; this is flat-out _cool_!" Spectra had to smile at his enthusiasm. It was different than what he was used to, yes, but—as he was slowly convincing himself—that didn't necessarily mean it was bad.

"Try to do yourself a favor, and leave most of it be," Spectra said. "You could very easily do something wrong and hurt yourself or worse." Arsonic froze a few inches away from the controls for the machine Spectra had used to evolve Helios, Vulcan, Brontes, and Elico (with the help of the forbidden card). "Especially equipment like that would be where worse is an option." He doubted Arsonic would be able to handle a forced evolution like the one he'd put the other four through.

"Got it," Arsonic said, quickly moving away from the controls. Spectra could hear how startled he was in his voice and smiled again, typing in coordinates on the flight control panel. "What are you doing?" Arsonic asked, landing on the control panel.

"Bringing us to Earth," Spectra said simply. "After all, I didn't go to the trouble of coming to New Vestroia and getting you simply for you sit here and admire the Vestal Destroyer's equipment."

"You mean like where Skyress's old partner and all the other ones are?"

Spectra fought not to roll his eyes. Arsonic's crush seemed to verge on _obsession_. "Yes, the six Battle Brawlers are on Earth. However, we only are going to concern ourselves with one."

"It's not Skyress's old partner, is it?"

"No," Spectra said, slightly exasperated. "The only one that matters is Dan Kuso, their leader."

"...The one with Drago?"

"Don't let that intimidate you too much, Arsonic. I've beaten them before."

"Seriously?"

Spectra nodded. "Once." He dropped it at that, not wanting to go into the details on how Apollonir had then easily defeated Helios and Drago. After all, it would be far better for Arsonic's confidence if he didn't mention the defeat that had followed.

Suddenly it occurred to him for the first time that brawling Dan right now would be a bad idea. Arsonic wasn't experienced enough, unless he'd done plenty of brawling on New Vestroia (which Spectra highly doubted—it was too peaceful there now for any Bakugan to have brawled each other, even without being serious), and the two had never battled together. It would put him at an extreme disadvantage to have no experience with his Bakugan when Dan and Drago had plenty. But he wasn't willing to go back to New Vestroia to test Arsonic's brawling skills; the Bakugan would get too distracted by Skyress. Spectra was still for a moment, weighing his options. He _could_ always bring Arsonic to Earth, find someone other than the Resistance who would brawl...he certainly didn't have any better ideas. Fighting Dan and Drago now would be a mistake; he was sure. He would simply have to settle for starting off with some other human who wouldn't know what they were getting into by agreeing to brawl him. It wasn't exactly his idea of 'fun', tracking down humans, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do it. After all, if he could stand to get a new Bakugan at all, he could easily hunt down a few humans. A small noise close to the back of the ship—he'd spent so much time on the Vestal Destroyer in the past few months that he knew when the smallest thing was out of place—made him glance back, but the only other one there was Arsonic, and he was still admiring the equipment, albeit from the safe distance of the countertop next to it all. Spectra had to smile for a moment at that before he turned back to the controls, pressing the last button to open the dimensional portal. The Vestal Destroyer was almost instantly sucked through it.

"Whoa!" Arsonic slid off the countertop. Clearly, he had never traveled through dimensions before. He scrambled frantically through the air to get back on. "What the heck was that?"

"It's nothing to worry over," Spectra said. Feeling like he had to at least make an effort, he caught Arsonic in his hand, setting the Pyrus Bakugan on the control panel. "I told you we're going to Earth. Did you think we could get there without traveling through dimensions?"

"I wasn't expecting _that_," Arsonic muttered. Clearly he was the slightest bit touchy about his pride.

Spectra rolled his eyes behind the mask. "You're fine," he said, setting Arsonic down. "Relax, it won't take long." He felt an odd sense of protectiveness toward Arsonic, though he didn't have any reason to. He supposed it was his lack of willingness to lose another partner, no matter how short of a time he'd spent with Arsonic. He didn't want the same thing to happen to Arsonic that had happened to Helios. That would be...a bit too much to bear. No, he wasn't going to lose Arsonic, too. He wasn't willing to go through that again. Spectra watched emotionlessly as the Vestal Destroyer came out of the portal on Earth, still invisible to avoid unwanted notice.

Arsonic watched him curiously. He could sense the hurt and sadness that his new battler felt, but he didn't understand it. Arsonic had a feeling that, if Spectra were to open up even a little, there would be a level of pain and...it was hard to describe...but it seemed almost like Spectra was lost inside himself. _That's crazy. How can anybody be lost inside themself?_ Still, Arsonic had a hunch it was true. He didn't know much about Spectra, but he wanted to help. The loyalty he already felt nagged at him until he finally opened his mouth and asked, "Are you alright?"

Spectra glanced down at him, surprised. The Vestal's gaze returned to the window almost immediately. "I'm fine," he said curtly. Arsonic caught the hint and shut up, but his concern still hovered in his mind. Why did Spectra seem so lost? And why did he wear that mask? Was it to hide himself from the emotions he didn't want to acknowledge? Or was it an effort not to get hurt by not letting anyone see the pain he already felt? It pushed him to ask, but he kept his mouth shut this time. After all, if Spectra wasn't going to answer, then he shouldn't ask. Arsonic might've been impulsive, but he still knew when to be sensitive. "Finally," Spectra said, startling Arsonic out of his thoughts.

"What is it?" Arsonic said.

"There." Spectra pointed at the ground, where a few kids maybe around ten to thirteen were gathered in a park. All of them were standing next to a fountain, talking excitedly. Arsonic caught a glimpse of a Bakugan in one of their hands and felt excitement rise in him. A couple of the others were holding Ability and Gate Cards, too, making him even more eager. "Before we do anything about Dan Kuso and Drago, we'll brawl them," Spectra said with a glance at Arsonic to see what the Pyrus Bakugan's reaction to this would be. "Dan and Drago have brawled together far too much for us to stand a chance without having ever battled together. Fighting against them will give us an opportunity to learn the other's brawling style. All right?"

"Sure," Arsonic said eagerly. He wanted to get to the battle as soon as possible. Spectra felt a sharp pang of sorrow, watching him and comparing the eagerness to battle to Helios's. The battler shook his head, forcefully telling himself to stop. _Comparing the two will cause nothing but trouble._ He knew that, but he couldn't help missing Helios even more, seeing Arsonic's excitement as he stared down at the humans. "What is it?" Arsonic said, noticing that Spectra was watching him closely.

"Nothing," Spectra said, turning his gaze back to the group of humans. Yes...they couldn't have too much experience. It would be a good start. After they won, Arsonic wouldn't be so worried about battling Dan and Drago, too. He picked up Arsonic, placed the Bakugan on his shoulder, pressed a button on his gauntlet, and teleported the two beside the fountain on the side opposite the humans. He figured they would freak out if he teleported in front of them, and that would mess with their battle skills. He didn't want to give himself an advantage when he didn't need it. Spectra smirked and walked around to the other side behind the humans. "Excuse me."

The kids turned. There were three of them, two boys and a girl. The girl had to be younger than the other two, but she couldn't be by much more than a year. Now that he was closer, Spectra could see that all of them had Bakugan. One of the boys was a Darkus brawler, the other one had an Aquos Bakugan, and the girl was spinning a Haos Bakugan in her hand. "What is it?" one of the boys said, not bothering to be subtle in his staring. Spectra rolled his eyes; humans got distracted so easily that it was almost disgusting. Just because he was dressed differently than them...it was absolutely ridiculous.

The Vestal teenager flicked Arsonic into the air with one finger and caught him, still smirking. "If any of you are willing to battle me, I'm going to need an opponent," he said mockingly, daring any of them to try to beat him. He was hoping that they wouldn't be totally pathetic. After all, this wouldn't be worth his time if the brawl was won so quickly that he learned nothing of Arsonic's battle style, and vice versa. It had to take at least a little while. Not to mention he was hoping in the back of his mind that the fight would distract him from missing Helios, at least until it was over. He was choosing to ignore the possibility that it would only make him miss Helios more.

The three exchanged a fierce look, almost like they were silently arguing over who would say yes first. Finally, the girl stepped forward. "How about a Battle Royale?" she said, holding up her Bakugan. "That should be good enough for you." Her eyes shone with eagerness; it was plain how much she was wishing he would say yes.

Spectra smiled cruelly. These pathetic humans had no idea what they were getting themselves into. This was going to be beyond easy. "That would be fine with me." He looked at Arsonic on his shoulder. "What do you think, Arsonic?"

"I say bring it on!" Arsonic said eagerly. Spectra forced himself not to flinch; how many times had Helios said exactly that? But he couldn't focus on that, not when he would have the Battle Royale to deal with. That would require at least some attention, and if he got distracted by Helios's memory, he would never focus on the current brawl. The battlers looked startled at the sight of a talking Bakugan, but all of them were ready.

* * *

**Me: There we go!**

**Arsonic: You're stopping THERE?**

**Me: Yup!**

**Spectra: Don't worry, Arsonic. She does this all the time.**

**Me: Yes I do! By the way, the next chapter might take me forever because it covers the Battle Royale, and everyone knows how horrible I am at writing brawl scenes. But I'm going to try! *determined face***

**Spectra: Oh brother... She's going to hurt herself if she keeps trying to do all this.**

**Me: Hey! Shut up, Spectra! Otherwise I'll call you by that nickname!**

**Spectra: DON'T YOU DARE!**

**Me: I will if you keep annoying me! Now, I've got to go. Have to do something even more twisted than writing.**

**Arsonic: What?**

**Spectra (sarcasm): Let me guess. Beating up your sister again?**

**Me: Worse. Untangling dead butterfly bushes.**

**Spectra & Arsonic: …*stare***

**Me: ...Don't ask. Anyway, please review, and I'll try to focus on chapter four of this story rather than my other ones until it's done!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Rin: Why the bloody heck does it take me so long to update my bloody stories?**

**Spectra: *sigh* For the thousandth time, Rin, **_**stop complaining**_**!**

**Rin: No!**

**Arsonic: ...Not to sound impatient, but can we get to the story? Pleeeeeease?**

**Rin: Eh, sure, just a sec, Arsonic. Spechan has to do the disclaimer first.**

**Spectra: **_**I don't have to do anything! And ESPECIALLY NOT IF YOU KEEP CALLING ME THAT!**_

**Rin: Yeah, whatevs. Just do the stupid thing.**

**Arsonic (quietly): Please?**

**Spectra: *hesitates* ... *angry, reluctant sigh* Obsessive-Fan Number 1 doesn't own Bakugan.**

**Rin: Gracias. Now onto the bloody chapter. Sorry if it sucks, I'm terrible at writing brawl scenes, but I tried.**

* * *

"_Bakugan, brawl!_" all four brawlers yelled, throwing their individual Bakugan. Spectra's first opponent was the female Haos brawler.

"Rise, Haos Ravenoid!" the girl shouted.

Spectra smiled coldly with no humor. "Rise, Pyrus Gamma Arsonic!" he commanded. Arsonic flipped a few times in midair just for the sake of doing it. Spectra rolled his eyes, but couldn't suppress a smile nonetheless. He easily had the advantage, and not just skill-wise either; Ravenoid's G-Power was only at 600, while Arsonic's was automatically at 850. This was going to be too easy after all. Shame, he'd actually been somewhat looking forward to this. "Ability Activate - H*llfire Prison!"

Arsonic extended his wings fully and shot toward Ravenoid, enjoying the exhilaration of the first move. Flames started streaming from the tips of his wings, leaving a jetstream of fire behind him. Easily, he curved his way around Ravenoid, creating a cage of fire around Ravenoid. "Fire burns, doesn't it?" he hissed, brushing his wing against Ravenoid's shoulder to sear the flames into the Haos Bakugan's skin. It was this thrill, this excitement that was the reason he'd—no. He _wasn't_ going to go into that mess again._ Never again._ The exhilaration tugged at the corner of his mind, but he forced himself to calm it.

"Ability Activate - Ring Zero!" the girl shouted. The flames around Ravenoid disappeared.

"Nice one, Cathy!" the boy Darkus brawler yelled over from his battle.

Cathy flashed him a quick smile. "Watch your own fight, Hunter!" she warned. Hunter turned and yelled out an ability just in time to stop his opponent's attack.

"You should be more focused on our battle before you scold your friend," Spectra said calmly. "Ability Activate - Element Merge!" Two hundred of Ravenoid's Gs were transferred to Arsonic; the G-Powers now read at Ravenoid with 400 and Arsonic with 1050.

"Ability Activate - Change Link Force!" Cathy yelled, thrusting her hand out. Four hundred of Arsonic's Gs transferred to Ravenoid, leaving the Pyrus Bakugan with 650 and Ravenoid with the advantage at 800.

Despite the almost comfort that Spectra felt from the familiarity of brawling, this could only keep him entertained for so long, and he wanted a chance to fight all three. He smiled cruelly. "It's almost too bad that you paid more attention to your friend's fight than the one you're in now. Ability Activate - Active Ghost!"

Arsonic shot forward again, punching Ravenoid hard in the stomach. "Looks like your light's out," he murmured coldly, kicking Ravenoid down to the ground. Ravenoid's G-Power fell to 150 before he went into ball form.

"Ravenoid!" Cathy shouted, catching her Bakugan and holding him near her face.

Slightly surprised by Arsonic's ferocity, but pleased, Spectra caught him. "It seems I was wrong," he said quietly, stroking Arsonic a little. "You're no stranger to brawling after all."

Shifting uncomfortably, Arsonic was a bit too quick to say, "Nope." Spectra looked at him, wondering what secrets his new partner was hiding. He had no more time to ponder it than those few seconds, though.

"Bakugan, brawl!" Hunter threw his Bakugan as hard as he could. "Rise, Darkus Fangoid!" Spectra tensed at the sight of the Darkus dragon-like Bakugan, cursing silently, reminded yet again of Drago killing Helios. This battle wasn't going to last long at all.

"Rise, Pyrus Gamma Arsonic! Ability Activate - Charcoal H*ll!" Spectra yelled. The ground under Fangoid started breaking up and turning black. Huge pieces of the ground that had been changed into coal shot into the air, most of them striking Fangoid. Arsonic caught one and sped toward Fangoid, stabbing the Darkus Bakugan in the leg.

"Ability Activate - Land Pressure!" Hunter shouted. Arsonic's G-Power went down 200 Gs. "Ability Activate - Element Merge!"

Spectra smiled coldly; at least this human knew a little of what he was doing. _Too bad it won't be enough._ "Ability Activate - Transducer!" All of Fangoid's G-Power transferred to Arsonic for an easy win. Hunter stared at Spectra in shock, but Spectra ignored him, calmly catching Arsonic.

"Alright, punk, you've beaten my friends, but let's see you beat me!" The final boy threw his Bakugan as hard as he could. "Bakugan, brawl! Bakugan, stand! Rise, Aquos Juggernoid!"

"Yeah, get him, Jake!" Cathy cheered.

Spectra's eyes widened for a split second behind his mask. _Aquos Juggernoid? With the brawler named Jake..._ A cold, humorless smile flickered across his face. _Now doesn't _this_ bring back memories._ But he couldn't let those memories distract him. Not now, anyways. He flicked Arsonic into the air with one finger and caught him before throwing him. "Bakugan, brawl! Destroy them, Arsonic!"

"Sure thing, Spectra!" Arsonic flipped in the air several times before swooping down and kicking Juggernoid's head. "This fight's all ours!" Spectra nodded, understanding what Arsonic meant; he wanted to fight Juggernoid without Spectra telling him what to do. The Vestal teenager was fine with that. It would be a good way to see Arsonic's natural fighting style. Besides, after just talking with her again, Spectra wasn't sure if he'd even remember to use Arsonic's abilities or if he'd start automatically using Wavern's.

"Ability Activate - Spotting Out, Pyrus!" Jake yelled. Arsonic's G-Power went down 500, leaving him at 350 Gs.

But Arsonic knew exactly what he was doing. "Flat Power!" he yelled, flying forward and dropping to the ground just in time to kick Juggernoid's legs out from under him. The ability brought his G-Power back to 850. Spectra smiled. Arsonic was smart about this, too. He found it hard to believe that his partner was no stranger to recent battle, but the peacefulness of New Vestroia now made him wonder how Arsonic was such a veteran.

Jake's hands clenched into fists. "Gate Card, Open - Aquos Reactor!" Juggernoid's G-Power went up by 350, putting him at 950 Gs. Spectra watched Arsonic closely to see what he would do.

"Devour, Aqous!" Arsonic dove straight toward Juggernoid, slamming his fist into the Aquos Bakugan's shell, cracking it. Juggernoid roared in pain before going back into ball form. Arsonic flipped in the air before landing in front of Spectra. "And that's what happens when you pick fights you can't win!" he said triumphantly before going back into ball form and zooming to Spectra's hand. Time around them unfroze, bringing everything back to normal. Spectra didn't bother to say anything to the three staring at him. He just smiled coldly and walked away.

* * *

**Rin: Yeah, that's the whole chapter...*sighs***

**Spectra & Arsonic: (A little short, don't you think?)**

**Rin: Sorry it's so short...school has been sapping my life force energy, a.k.a. my creativity. *frowns* Did anybody do the disclaimer earlier? I forget...**

**Spectra: Yes, you made me do it. *sighs* Go lie down before you hurt yourself typing.**

**Rin: Aw, but Spechan, I don't want to!**

**Spectra: **_**Stop calling me that!**_

**Rin: I don't wanna! *sighs* So...other stuff, other stuff...I'll try not to take so long next chapter, either. Hopefully I'll do a better job with it this time since it's not a brawl... Hm...besides that...the next story update is a toss-up between several of my stories, so if you particularly care what story I update next, just check out the poll on my profile. Other than that...I guess there's nothing. Please review! Thanks! *two-fingered wave***


	5. Chapter 5

**Rin (screaming from opposite side of room): NO! No, no, no, no, no!**

**Spectra: *sighs* Ignore her, please. She finally started catching up on Mechtanium Surge episodes a few weeks before she started typing this. She hates episode twenty-seven for one reason and one reason only.**

**Rin: GUNZ, YOU LITTLE BAKA!**

**Spectra: *flinches at sheer volume* She claims this "Gunz" character is a thief.**

**Rin: He is! He stole your signature one-finger thing! You know, how you flick your Bakugan in the air with one finger? GUNZ DID THAT!**

**Spectra: *yells across room* Stop complaining!**

**Naoko: You can't make her, Spectra-kun!**

**Spectra: *stares* When did you get here?**

**Arsonic: Uh...who's that?**

**Spectra: Rin's sister.**

**Naoko: Yup. *pulls lollipop out of mouth* Since Rin's busy—**

**Spectra: —freaking out over this "Gunz" character being a thief—**

**Rin: DIE, GUNZ!**

**Naoko: —I decided to come for this one. *smiles* Which means I can force you two to do the disclaimer!**

**Spectra: You can not!**

**Naoko: Oh yes I can. Hey, Rin! Which one did it last time?**

**Rin: *stops spazzing fit temporarily to check* Uh...Spechan did. *goes back to spaz fit***

**Naoko: Arsonic, if you would? I'll tell you about what she was writing this morning.**

**Arsonic: Nobody here owns Bakugan.**

**Naoko: Onto the chapter!**

* * *

"That was...impressive," Spectra said once the two were a good distance away from their human opponents.

Arsonic shrugged halfheartedly, or came as close to it as he could in ball form. "Guess there's naturals in everything," he muttered. Spectra watched him closely, curiosity rising again about what Arsonic was hiding. _Naturals are one thing, but he's too good to just be a 'natural'. He has skill honed by experience, and not the cheap experience that's earned by knowing simply _how_ to fight. _He could tell that Arsonic was a veteran at fighting, but where or when he'd had the chance to become so...that was what he wanted to know. "So what do we do now?" Arsonic asked, pulling Spectra out of his thoughts.

Spectra glanced at the sky, which was already glowing with the soft colors of twilight. "For tonight, we'll head back to the Vestal Destroyer. It wouldn't be a wise idea to go straight from that Battle Royale to fighting Dan Kuso and Drago," he said softly. _Especially with the memories..._ "You're going to need all your strength for that fight." Arsonic nodded and landed on Spectra's shoulder, and the Vestal brawler teleported them back to his airship.

He was thankful that Arsonic seemed to sense that he wanted to be alone; the Pyrus Bakugan simply said, "'Night," and landed on the counter, where he apparently had already made 'his' spot. Spectra couldn't help a slight smile. He stroked Arsonic a few times before leaving to his room.

* * *

"Dan?" Drago said, hopping closer to Dan's bed without leaving the brunette's nightstand. "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah." Dan rolled over onto his side so he was facing Drago. He hated what he saw. Drago didn't seem to have hardly any energy in him. His eyes and voice had a dead edge to them. Even his color scheme seemed duller than it had before they'd left for that d*mn fight. "What's up?"

"I can't stop thinking about either of them."

Dan brushed his fingers against his guardian. He could feel Drago trembling and knew not a word would've been said if anyone else was around. "Me either, buddy. I keep remembering when Spectra took you," Dan said, staring at the ceiling. "I was terrified. Nothing in any world or dimension or whatever could've possibly stood a chance of calming me down completely without you. But at the same time...I knew you were too important to Spectra for him to do anything to really hurt you, and more importantly, I knew I could get you back. I can't imagine how he must feel right now, knowing there's no way to possibly..." He trailed off.

Drago was silent for a moment. "...I don't know what I feel stronger about," he said. "Wishing I could understand it like you can or hating myself for doing it in the first place to him."

"Look, Drago." Dan looked him straight in the eye. "It wasn't your fault. Something wacky happened to make you lose control. You wouldn't have killed Helios on purpose _ever_. We all know that! So don't blame yourself too much about it, all right?"

"...All right," Drago said, but he didn't sound like he believed it was true. Actually, he didn't sound like it mattered to him whether it was true or not. The dead tone Drago had scared Dan silly. "Go to sleep, Dan, okay?" Drago forced himself to say.

"You too, Drago." Dan rolled onto his back again and closed his eyes.

"...I'll try," Drago said quietly. It was several hours before either made good on their word.

* * *

Knocking on the door woke Dan up. "Ten more minutes," he mumbled, rolling over and pulling the pillow over his head.

"I've been standing here listening to you say that for half an hour." Ace sounded extremely annoyed.

Dan was up in a flash, pillow tossed carelessly to the floor. "_Ace?_ What the heck are you doing outside my room?"

"Your mom let me in. Are you gonna open the door now, or do I have to stand here for even longer?"

"Just a sec." Dan quickly changed from his pajamas into normal clothes. He lightly pushed Drago to wake up the Pyrus Bakugan before going to the door and opening it. Ace was leaning against the wall, fingering Percival. "What's up?"

Ace didn't answer for a moment. Then he sighed, annoyed, and looked Dan straight in the eye. "I came because I'm not gonna say this in front of Mira."

"...oh-kay," Dan said slowly. "Say what?"

The Darkus brawler's eyes hardened. "Look, I get that what happened is hard on you." Dan tensed automatically. "But you need to get a grip. I understand you being upset that you and Drago killed Helios, but you're so caught up in it that you can't see how it's affecting other people around you. Mira's upset enough about it just because it's her brother's guardian that got killed, and you going around moping about it doesn't help a thing."

"...I'm not moping."

"Sure you aren't," Ace said sarcastically. "Listen, Dan. Get a hold of yourself. Other people rely on you too much for you to keep going around depressed. Get that through your head." He turned away, not giving Dan a chance to reply. With a two-fingered wave, he left.

Dan sighed angrily, leaning against the wall with his fist between his forehead and the wall. "What does he know?" he muttered. His voice sounded like he was trying to be angry, but it was just empty. "He's not the one that did anything."

"Dan?" The brunette turned to see Drago hovering there. "Is everything alright?"

Reaching out and stroking him with a finger, Dan said, "Yeah. It's just tough, y'know?" Drago nodded. Straightening, Dan stretched and said tiredly, "Guess we should head out to Marucho's, huh? The others will probably get worried if we don't get there soon." Again, Drago nodded silently.

* * *

"Keith? Are you awake yet?"

Spectra sighed and sat up. He really should've known this was coming sooner or later. He'd just been expecting it for later. _"I didn't sleep, Wavern,"_ he 'said'. Technically, he didn't say the words aloud, but using his gift of telepathy was a way both were used to communicating. _"You didn't really expect me to after everything that happened yesterday, did you?"_

He could hear Wavern's smile in her 'voice'. "I can hope for you."

"_Still the same."_ Spectra couldn't help adding to himself, _Still like the mother I didn't really have._

"Is caring about you a bad thing?"

"_Most would consider it so. I am the former leader of the Vexos, remember, and that hardly starts the list of what I've done."_

"You still don't understand, Keith," Wavern said with a small sigh. "It's not what you've done that makes people care about you. It's who you are. What you do only is a small part of that."

"_Blame it on lack of chances to interact with others besides my sister and you for over half my life."_ Spectra wasn't in the mood to listen to Wavern's proverbs at the moment. He glanced at the door, wondering if Arsonic was awake yet. The sooner he could get his revenge on Dan and Drago, the better.

"Your father influenced that before, but it's been you avoiding the chances ever since the Vexos," Wavern pointed out. "You're being hypocritical again."

Spectra flinched a little without thinking, despising that she was right. Knowing it did not mean he had to acknowledge it aloud, though. _"Clay isn't my father. Not anymore."_

Wavern didn't try and argue with him. "Do me a favor."

"_What is it?"_

"Try to let yourself trust again, Keith. It might be hard, especially opening up to certain people, but try."

"_I won't guarantee anything, Wavern,"_ Spectra warned simply. He felt Wavern's presence vanish and couldn't suppress a small sigh. Talking with Wavern again like this made him miss her even more, but the worst part was that he could practically feel ghosts of old wounds reopening. He didn't even realize his hands were shaking until he slowly uncurled them from tight fists. With a sigh, he left his room to check on Arsonic.

"Hey, Spectra? Is anybody else here?" Arsonic asked.

Spectra was silent for a minute. "There used to be," he said finally. "Not anymore." He looked at Arsonic. "What makes you ask?"

"No reason," Arsonic said in a tone that strongly implied there was a lot of reason. "I just thought I heard something earlier."

Spectra eyed him suspiciously for a moment. "...If you say so," he said after a moment. "Come, we don't have any time to waste."

"Before fighting Dan and Drago?" Arsonic guessed. Spectra nodded, already turning away and typing in the coordinates. The Pyrus Bakugan suppressed a sigh, wondering why he was getting mixed up in this again. _I promised her..._ But Skyress had been the one to set him as Spectra's partner, and she must've known what Spectra was doing. So did that mean she thought he could handle it now, after how long it'd been? Or after how much he'd grown to care about her? Or something else? Who knew? She had to have her reasons, though. She couldn't have thrown him back into this kind of thing without good reason. No, she _wouldn't_. She knew. She knew how it was for him. "Hey, Spectra," he asked suddenly, "what's the big deal about Dan and Drago, anyways?"

The nineteen-year-old tensed automatically, but he refused to let himself think of Helios. Of what they'd _done_ to Helios. His free hand clenched into a fist, but he would not let vengeance blind his judgement before this fight even began. "Among other things playing their role," he said, choosing his words, "call it a 'particular rivalry'."

"Meaning...?"

The blond sighed, wondering if Arsonic ever stopped asking questions when he wasn't fighting. "Meaning neither of us will rest until the other is destroyed."

"That sounds more like 'supreme hatred' than 'particular rivalry' to me," Arsonic commented, landing on the control panel as the portal opened outside.

Spectra shrugged nonchalantly. "Call it what you will."

Growing a little anxious, Arsonic pushed away the familiarity nagging at the corner of his mind again. "Are you sure fighting them right now is a good idea? Maybe we should wait a while..."

"And waste more time than I already have?" Spectra glanced at Arsonic incredulously. "I was watching during the last fight of that Battle Royale. You're no more a stranger to battling than I am. Practice can only get one so far, and by this point, it would only slow us down. The sooner...the sooner we defeat them, the better." He looked away again, cursing himself for almost slipping up after swearing to himself two minutes ago that he wouldn't let revenge keep him from focusing.

Arsonic hesitated before giving in with a nod. Trying to cover the growing déjà vu, he said, "Let's go then." Spectra nodded, picked him up, and pressed a button on his gauntlet to teleport them to the ground. "Uh...how do we get them to know we're here?" Arsonic said after a moment of total silence except for the wind.

Spectra's smile was so cold that a different image flashed before Arsonic's now-wide eyes. "That will be simple enough," the brawler said, looking up for a second as Arsonic tried to shake the image off. The sound of his voice changed to be much more distant, like he wasn't really saying anything at all. _"You remember this, don't you, Dan Kuso?"_

* * *

Dan started, dropping his spoon into his cereal. "Did you guys—"

"Did we what?" Marucho said instantly, hope rising in his eyes. Whatever it was, it was getting the most reaction out of Dan that any of them had seen since the...incident in the last fight against Spectra.

"Hear him!" None of them knew if the enthusiasm in Dan's voice was from relief or if it was genuine. "Spectra, he's—he's doing that creepy mind thing again."

"Creepy...mind thing?" Ace repeated in a 'seriously?' tone. He crossed his arms, giving Dan a look that clearly said 'I told you to get your head straight, not go insane'.

Baron leaned over and pressed his hand against Dan's forehead. "Master Dan, are you alright?"

"You know—that telepathy thingy he did," Dan insisted. "The one he did right before—" He fell silent, but his eyes still held a faint glow that gave the others a hint of hope.

"_Don't bother stopping." _Spectra's 'voice' was filled with quiet, restrained anger. _"Right before the battle where you and Drago killed Helios."_ Said partners both flinched; Dan's hands tightened into fists, but it was Drago who started shaking. Dan reached out and grabbed him, closing his hand into a tight fist around him. _"You should be able to figure out where I am, Dan Kuso,"_ Spectra 'said'. Dan could practically hear his smug glare. _"I'll be waiting for you."_ Then his 'voice' vanished.

Dan was silent for a moment, shadows covering his face so that no one could see his expression. "Drago," he said finally, looking sidelong at his partner.

"...Are you sure, Dan?" The Pyrus Bakugan sounded hesitant; the others might've dared say that he sounded afraid if it wasn't for the fact that he still seemed emotionally dead. Dan nodded once.

"I don't know what he's up to," he said. "But the worst it could be is a fight between me and him. After all, he doesn't have a Bakugan anymore or a lackey to fight for him." Guilt shaded his voice for the first part of the last sentence.

Drago landed on his shoulder. "Then I guess we'd better get going," he said.

* * *

**Rin (a lot calmer now): Obviously, the opening A/N is proof that I've had this started for a long time. Gomenasai for taking so bloody long! D: I think some people know this (the people I PM constantly), but our main computer got the blue screen of death right after our (read: my) laptop did. And once we got the main computer working, Google docs (which is where I have been typing this all along) is ridiculously weird. D:**

**Naoko: C'mon, get to the good news. *smiling***

**Rin: BUT WE HAVE LAPTOPS AGAIN! *goes insane with happiness* Which means I can type, PM, and catch up on reviews more often again! *hands out virtual cookies 'cause she's in such a good mood from that***

**Arsonic (whispering to Spectra): Um...how crazy are those two...?**

**Spectra: Enough that it's impossible to figure out. *sighs***

**Rin: *calming down* I wonder how many people still care...I apologize for taking so long to update my stories! *bows apologetically* But the next chapter will be up sooner, I hope. *crosses fingers* *hugs Naoko around the neck with one arm & grabs Spectra's wrist and pulls him over with the other hand* From Spechan, Arsonic, Naoko-onee-cho ("onee-cho" means "sister dear", by the way), and me, au revoir!**


End file.
